Can puncturing device



Jan. 6, 1953 R. E. ANDERSON CAN PUNCTURING DEVICE Filed Feb. 14, 1950 w n n I 2 WW F HHHHU ww N W w 1. nHwH Hwmfimmm n w v I 6/ 2 JNVENTOR. PUG/V52 E. AA/fiEESOM Patented Jan. 6, 1953 UNITED STATES Fade? QFFICE CAN PUNCTURING DEVICE Rugner E; Anderson, Orofino, Idaho Application February 14, 1950, Serial No. 144,138

Z'Claims. 1

Thi's invention-relates' to can puncturing devices and moreparticularly to a base mounted device for puncturing. the top end of a can for the'dispensing of liquid contents from the can.

It isairiongtheolojects of the invention to provide an improved can opener or can puncturing device which can be rigidly mounted on a fixed support, such as a counter or table, andm'anually operated to" quickly' puncture metal cans, which provides in the to'p end ofthe can two openings spaced apart diametrically of the top end of the can an'cllocated at the edgeof such top end, which firmly supports the can in proper position during the pun'cturing operation, which has replaceable puncturing bits so that the bits can be sharpened or renewedwhen necessary without having to replacethe entire device, and which is simple and durable in. construction, economical to manufacture'; and easy to operate.

Further objects and advantages will. become apparentfrom a consideration of the following description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanyin drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of acan puncturing device illustrative of the invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of vice illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the device illustrated in Figure l; and V Figure 4 is a transverse cross sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

With continued reference to the drawing, the device comprises a flat base ID which is preferably of rectangular shape and has a formation 5 I providing a ralsed pillow for supporting the bottom endof a can and properly locating the can on the puncturing device. This base is provided at its corners with apertures 12 to receive fasteners, such as screws, for rigidly attaching the device to a supporting base structure, such a a counter or table.

A standard I3 is secured at one end to the base Ill at one side of the pillow II and is disposed substantially perpendicular to the base so that the standard upstand from the base when the base is operatively mounted on a generally horizontal supporting surface. This standard 13 is preferably hollow and of rectangular cross sectional shape and has at its end opposite the base it) a lateral extension M the side of which remote from the standard is formed to provide an elongated guideway I5 the center line of which is substantially perpendicular to the base and, when elongated, intersects the pillow ll substantially at the center of the latter.

the de- The guideway l5 may be of cylindrical shape and a cylin'drically shaped rack bar it is slid ably mounted in the guideway i5 and provided along one side with a series of rack teeth: it, these teeth being disposed in a slot in the side oithe guide'way adjacent the standard iii.

A pinion i8 is journaled the standard 13 adjace'nt the guide'way l5 and has teeth it which mesh with the teeth E1 on the rack bar;

As is particularly illustrated in Figure 4, an axle pin 23 extends through and is journaled in registering aperturesin the standard i3 and the pinion i8 is disposed in the hollow standard andsecured on this axle pin. The axle pin has a head 2| on oneend which head bears against the outer side of the adjacent sidewall of the standard and has its opposite end externally screw threaded, as indicated at 22.

A hand crank 23 is provided atone end with a handle 2d and at its opposite end with an enlarged eye-2'5, the aperture of which receive the axlepi-n' 2!) adjacent the screw threads 22. The aperture in the handle eye and the associated portion of the axle pin are formed noncircular and provided with suitable keys so that the axle pin cannot rotate in the eye of the crank. The pinion 18' is also secured to the axle pinagainst rotation relative to the pin by a suitable noncircular formation or key construction.

A nut 2 5 is threaded onto the "screwthreaded portion 22 of the axle pin to secure the crank on the pin. I

With this construction, when the handle is disposed in the upwardly extending'position, il lustrated in Figures 2 and 3, with the rack bar it retracted, and the handle is then pulled forwardly and downwardly, the pinion I8 is rotated forcing the rack bar in a direction toward the base l8. A tension spring 21 connected at one end to the standard 13' and at-its opposite-end to the crank 23 resiliently returns the crank to its upstanding position, retracting the rack bar I6 when the handle 24 is released.

A head 28, in the form of a flat plate, is secured on the base adjacent end of the rack bar it and overlies the pillow formation II. This head is provided with two spaced apart apertures 29 and 30 leading from the lower to the upper surface of the head and with two tapped holes each of which extends from the front edge of the head to a corresponding aperture.

Two can puncturing bits 31 and 32 are secured to the head 28 and extend from the lower side of the head opposite the rack bar 16.

7 Each of these bits has a shank portion received in a corresponding aperture in the head 28, the bits being detachably secured to the head by set screws 33 and 34 which are threaded through the tapped holes to engage the bit shanks in the corresponding apertures 29 and 30. At the proximal ends of the shanks 29 and 30 the bits are enlarged to provide transverse shoulders which bear against the under side of the head 28 to support the can puncturing pressure applied to the bit. At the sides of these shoulders opposite the shanks the bits 3| and 32 are formed in the shape of inverted triangular pyramids and have their adjacent side edges straight and substantially perpendicular to the under surface of the head 28, in parallelism with the line of movement of the rack bar. The two outer sides of each bit are beveled or inclined, that is, the remaining two side edges of each bit converge downwardly toward one another and toward the first named side edge, so that each bit is tapered in a direction away from the corresponding shank substantially to a point at the end of the bit opposite the shank. With this construction, when the bits are forced into the top end of a metal can, the pointed ends of the bits will first contact the can top and, as the bits are forced into the can triangular tabs will be separated and folded downwardly and outwardly toward the side walls of the can providing two triangular shaped apertures in the top end of the can through one of which the liquid contents of the can may be poured, the other serving as an air inlet vent so that air may freely enter the can to replace the liquid poured therefrom. The openings in the can top are extended substantially to the side wall of the can so that the entire contents of the can may be poured therefrom without difiiculty.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come Within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A can puncturing device comprising a flat base, a standard upstanding from said base, a guideway carried by said standard above said base with its center line substantially perpendicular to said base, a rack bar slidably mounted in said guideway and having rack teeth on one side thereof, a pinion jcurnaled in said standard above said rack adjacent said guideway and having teeth meshing with said rack teeth, a crank secured to said pinion to rotate the latter and move said rack bar toward and away from said base, a head of rigid construction secured on the base adjacent end of said rack bar, and two can puncturing bits detachably secured to said head at spaced apart locations and extending from the side of said head opposite said rack bar, said bits being formed as inverted triangular pyramids and having adjacent side edges arranged in parallelism with the line of movement of said rack bar, the remaining side edges of the respective bits extending downwardly from said head in converging relation to one another and to said first named side edges to form can puncturing points at the lower ends of the bits,

2. A can puncturing device comprising a flat base, a standard upstanding from said base, a guideway carried by said standard above said base with its center line substantially perpendicular to said base, a rack bar slidably mounted in said guideway and having rack teeth on one side thereof, a pinion journaled in said standard above said rack adjacent said guideway and having teeth meshing with said rack teeth, a crank secured to said pinion to rotate the latter and move said rack bar toward and away from said base, a head of rigid construction secured on the base adjacent end of said rack bar, and two can puncturing bits detachably secured to said head at spaced apart locations and extending from the side of said head opposite said rack bar, said bits being formed as inverted triangular pyramids and having adjacent side edges arranged in parallelism with the line of movement of said rack bar, the remaining side edges of the respective bits extending downwardly from said head in converging relation to one another and to said first named side edges to form can puncturing points at the lower ends of the bits, said base having a raised pillow formation thereon for locating a can on said base and the center line of said guideway when extended, intersecting said pillow formation substantially at the center of the latter.

RUGNER E. ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 627,752 Herron June 27, 1899 1,230,344 Tweeddale June 19, 1917 2,082,922 Vitek June 8, 1937 2,359,883 Swanson Oct. 10, 1944 2,516,746 Barlow July 25,1950 2,537,724 Warren Jan. 9, 1951 2,569,123 Anderson Sept. 25, 1951 

